Water Problems Surfacing

When Arthur ``Sonny`` Rosenberg moved to Hallandale in 1971, water seemed as plentiful as the expanse of the ocean and the torrents of rain. He never worried that someday his tap might run dry.

Now the city`s vice mayor, Rosenberg views water as a precious commodity. Hallandale`s supply, after all, is threatened by contamination from nearby pollution sites. Saltwater also is flowing underground and infiltrating wells, rendering the water undrinkable.

``We`ve got major problems here,`` he said. ``We just came here and did what we wanted to do and ignored the things we should have done. (Now) we are boning up on taking the salt out of water. We`re going to have to consider that.``

Hallandale`s water problems are a glimpse of things to come for Broward County`s eastern communities, where wells are being polluted by salt and chemicals. Water use is rapidly increasing; the supply is at best remaining stable.

The problem boils down to a simple fact: Broward`s 1.1 million people live on top of their water supply. Urban development can irrevocably poison our sole source of drinking water -- the Biscayne Aquifer, an underground layer of sand and limestone that is saturated with water.

Meanwhile, the county`s drinking water demand is expected to almost double, from 178 to 332 million gallons a day, by the year 2020.

``Groundwater was always thought of as sacred. It couldn`t be hurt,`` said Louis Devillon, regional drinking water engineer for the state Department of Environmental Regulation. ``It turns out that once you get contaminants in groundwater, it`s very difficult to get them out.``

Pollution also is difficult to detect. In 1980, an environmental inspector noticed a white, bubbly, foul-smelling foam coming out of an abandoned well near Fort Lauderdale`s Executive Airport.

For as long as eight years, officials eventually discovered, Hollingsworth Solderless Terminal Co. had been pumping hazardous wastes into the ground.

``Had it not been for a series of propitious circumstances, Hollingsworth may not have been caught,`` said George Fitzpatrick, chairman of Broward`s Environmental Quality Control Board, the county`s environmental regulators.

Toxic chemicals showed up in drinking water at 13 of 25 water wells in the area. Some of those wells are tested every day for contamination; others have been closed. The pools of chemical pollution remain underground, while officials work through the red tape necessary for cleanup.

Environmental officers later learned other industries in the Executive Airport area also had spilled or dumped chemicals in the ground near wells; collectively, dozens of them may be responsible for the contaminated drinking water.

The Hollingsworth site is considered a national priority for cleanup, earning it a spot on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s ``Superfund`` list. The Davie Landfill is Broward`s only other pollution site eligible for the special federal money.

A third site, Petroleum Products Corp. in Pembroke Park, is expected to be added to the list later this year. Another 101 sites, from small leaks to major dumps, have been cited for pollution violations countywide.

So far, however, no federal money has been used to clean up any hazardous waste sites in Broward County, and delays in the Congressional extension of the Superfund program threaten to hamper those efforts further.

``Very little cleanup has been done compared to what needs to be done,`` said Fitzpatrick.

Scientists are not sure what health effects certain toxic chemicals may have over a lifetime. But officials at least realize they must minimize the dangers.

In 1984, Florida was the first state in the nation to set standards for eight known or suspected cancer-causing substances. Utilities now test for 129 chemicals in drinking water.

``Florida is well ahead of the rest of the country in paying attention to (toxic waste) sites and doing remedial investigation,`` said Eric Draper, a coordinator of the National Campaign Against Toxic Hazards, an alliance of health, environmental and consumer organizations. ``They`ve forced a number of cleanups of non-Superfund sites. Nationally, they`re considered kind of leaders.``

To prevent future pollution of drinking water, last year the County Commission created zones of protection around wellfields. Certain businesses located near wells must move or stop using toxic chemicals.

In a larger zone around the wells, industries must have permits to handle waste chemicals, special monitoring wells to detect spills and a cleanup plan.

Dade is the only other county in the state to protect wellfields; Palm Beach County is considering a similar ordinance.

``They need to take all the steps that they can to protect the source as much as possible,`` said Glenn Dykes, administrator of the state`s drinking-water program. ``It requires constant vigilance.``

The zones are based on how long experts estimate it would take for pollutants to be sucked into the well while water is being pumped out -- 10, 30 or 210 days.